Thursday, January 14, 2016

Luftwaffe Aircraft Armorers in Action

Regardless of the weather, the aircraft armorers were required to move enormous quantities of bombs daily to keep the Luftwaffe bombers, dive-bombers and fighter-bombers operational. While hydraulic bomb trolleys were available (an LWC trolley is seen here), they were often of little use on rain-softened Russian airfields and muscle power was the only option. Here armorers are loading SC 50 high-explosive bombs onto a bomb trolley. Note the "Jericho" device on the bomb lying on the trolley. The "Jericho" was a cardboard whistle that was attached to the tail fins of a bomb. The "Jericho Whistles", which produced a shrieking sound as the bomb fell, were intended to demoralize the enemy. In the background an SC 500 anti-personnel bomb (with electric contact fuse) on a bomb sled. When and where the photograph was taken is not known.